Thermal Control System (TCS) Design Engineer (Spacecraft)

Location: Los Angeles, CA, United States. The role involves access to ITAR-controlled information and requires a U.S. person or eligibility for a federally issued export control license.

Salary: $100,000–$215,000 per year, plus equity.

Company

Develops and mass-produces high-power satellite platforms for commercial and U.S. government missions from low Earth orbit to deep space.

What you will do

• Design and verify active and passive spacecraft thermal control systems, including pumps, fluid loops, heat pipes, accumulators, cold plates, and heat exchangers.
• Plan and execute thermal-cycle and thermal-vacuum testing campaigns.
• Design heater and cooling systems, control architectures, test fixtures, instrumentation, and supporting ground equipment.
• Set up, commission, maintain, and troubleshoot thermal and power test stands and integrated hardware.
• Develop data acquisition systems, control scripts, and hardware-in-the-loop tests for fluid loops and individual components.
• Create test procedures, test reports, standard operating procedures, and analyses of test data while supporting transition from prototype builds to production.

Requirements

• 3+ years of thermal testing experience in a high-rate manufacturing environment.
• 2+ years of experience sizing and testing fluid systems, including pumps, valves, accumulators, heat exchangers, and cold plates.
• Demonstrated experience with data acquisition for thermal and power applications.
• Experience developing and executing test plans, including thermal and thermal-vacuum test setup, instrumentation, and troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated knowledge of NX or AutoCAD for test-fixture design is preferred.
• Must be a U.S. person under ITAR or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Nice to have

• Basic and statistical data analysis experience.
• Thermal Desktop experience for thermal analysis.
• Signal-conditioning experience, including acquisition-rate selection and signal-to-noise evaluation.
• Experience testing pumps, avionics, or refrigeration systems.

Culture & Benefits

• Work on high-power satellite platforms for missions ranging from low Earth orbit to deep space.
• Equity in the company.
• Paid time off, medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Life insurance and paid parental leave.
• Accommodation support is available during the application and interview process.